Variability in Physico-chemical Properties and Nutrient Composition of Newly Released Ricebean and Fababean Cultivars

Legumes are important constituents of predominantly vegetarian diet of populations of subtropical and tropical areas. Some of the non-conventional legumes like fababean and ricebean are early maturers, resistant to yellow mosaic virus infection and can withstand high water tables and soil salinity. The high-yielding varieties of fababean (VH-82-1) and ricebean (RB-32) were analysed for physico-chemical properties and nutrient profile. Hydration index, swelling capacity as well as swelling index of ricebean were greater as compared to those of fababean which resulted in less cooking time. On a dry weight basis, fababean contained higher concentrations of crude protein (25.5 g/100 g), fat (2.7 g/100 g), ash (5.1 g/100 g), various dietary fibre constituents and digestible starch (42.1 mg maltose released/g meal) than those of ricebean. On the other hand, ricebean contained higher concentrations of total soluble sugars (5.6 g/100 g) and non-reducing sugars (5.0 g/100 g), digestible protein (58.4%) and total and available Ca, P and Fe than fababean. Both the legumes contained quite high concentrations of antinutrients viz. phytic acid (1012–2018 mg/100 g), polyphenols (750–1698 mg/100 g), saponins (1313–2168 mg/100 g) and trypsin inhibitor activity (TIA) (55.2–905.2 TIU/g).